Nicholas VanCuran Johnson (born December 24, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey

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who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild and the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

Playing career

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins 67th overall in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout, ...

. Before being drafted, Johnson played for the

St. Albert Saints The St. Albert Saints were a junior ice hockey franchise based in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, for twenty-seven seasons from 1977 to 2004. Before 1977, the team played in nearby Spruce Grove as the Spruce Grove Mets, and in 2004 the team again mo ...

of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. After graduating high school and being drafted, Johnson played four seasons with

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of ECAC Hockey in the NCAA. Following his final season at Dartmouth, Johnson signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Penguins on March 25, 2008. He shortly began his professional career with affiliate the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. In the 2009–10 season, Johnson scored his first career NHL goal in his NHL debut on January 21, 2010, with the Penguins against the Washington Capitals. He played in 6 games with the Pittsburgh before returning the Wilkes-Barre. On June 7, 2010, he was re-signed to a one-year contract with the Penguins. On September 29, 2011, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild. In the 2011–12 season, Johnson earned a regular checking line role on the Wild, playing in a career high 77 games to recorded 8 goals and 26 points. Despite his successful season with the Wild, Johnson was released as a free agent and on July 11, 2012, he was signed on a one-year, two-way deal with the

. With the NHL lockout in effect, Johnson signed for a brief stint with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Upon conclusion of the lockout he was assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...

. He was later recalled by the Coyotes in the shortened

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season and appeared in 17 games for the Coyotes before on March 13, 2013, he was put on waivers and reassigned to Portland. On July 5, 2013, Johnson was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Boston Bruins. On July 9, 2014, Johnson left the Bruins organization after one season and signed his first contract abroad on a one-year deal with the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Nick 1985 births Boston Bruins players Brynäs IF players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Canadian ice hockey right wingers Dartmouth Big Green men's ice hockey players Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players Living people Minnesota Wild players Phoenix Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Pittsburgh Penguins players Portland Pirates players Providence Bruins players Ice hockey people from Calgary St. Albert Saints players Växjö Lakers players Wheeling Nailers players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players